Two newspapers have quoted Turkey's foreign minister as saying his country will cut diplomatic ties with Israel if it does not apologize for a deadly raid on a Gaza aid ship or accept an international investigation of the incident.
The statement during an interview with Turkish reporters was the most explicit threat to date that Turkey could sever ties. But it immediately became the subject of dispute inside Turkey. The Turkish government issued no official comment on the interview, but a senior government official said Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had been misquoted.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said in Latvia that his country had no intention of apologizing.
Hurriyet Daily News, the English-language version of the leading newspaper Hurriyet, quoted Mr. Davutoglu as saying in Turkish on his plane while returning from Kyrgyzstan on Sunday that "Israelis have three options: They will either apologize or acknowledge an international-impartial inquiry and its conclusion. Otherwise, our diplomatic ties will be cut off."
Today's Zaman, the English edition of the pro-government newspaper Zaman, quoted Mr. Davutoglu as saying, "There are three options ahead: it will either apologize or it will consent to a study by an international commission or the relations will break off."
The senior Turkish official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk with the media, said Mr. Davutoglu said only that relations with Israel would not improve unless it apologizes or accepts an international probe.
The newspaper reporters said they did not record the interview and the Turkish official said the government would not release a recording it had made. He did not explain why.
Mr. Davutoglu's office told The Associated Press that he laid out Turkey's conditions for improved ties with Israel during a secretly held meeting with Israel's Industry Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer in Brussels last week.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry quoted Mr. Lieberman as saying that "Israel has no intention of apologizing to Turkey."
Lieberman "noted that there has been a dramatic change in Turkish policy," the statement said, noting that Turkey had voted last month against a U.S.-backed U.N. Security Council resolution on new sanctions against Iran.
"We believe that this position is mistaken, [Mr. Lieberman]noted," the statement said.
Relations between Turkey and Israel are at their lowest point since the two countries embarked on a policy of strategic co-operation after the first Israeli-Palestinian accord in 1993. Turkey withdrew its ambassador to protest the Israeli raid on Gaza-bound aid ships, which killed eight Turks and a Turkish-American on May 31. Turkish officials have said the envoy will not return until Israel takes steps to meet its demands. It also is barring some Israeli military planes from using its airspace and has pulled out of an upcoming naval search and rescue exercise with Israel and the United States in the Mediterranean.
Turkey has said it is committed to binding contracts with Israeli companies, but further business is in doubt.
Turkey's ambassador to Washington warned last month that public sentiment could force his country to break relations with Israel unless Israel apologizes, but did not go as far as Mr. Davutoglu's quoted statements in laying out an immediate threat to do so.
Israel insists its commandos acted in self-defence after being attacked by pro-Palestinian activists on the aid ships and has launched its own probe into the incident.
Over the weekend, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed regret for the loss of life but said: "Israel cannot apologize for its soldiers being forced to defend themselves from a mob that almost slaughtered them."
Israeli officials have made it clear they want to get past the crisis. Defence Minister Ehud Barak told a parliamentary committee Monday "we have no interest in confrontation with Turkey." He was quoted by a meeting participant who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was closed.
Israel has been under intense international pressure to loosen its three-year embargo on Gaza since Israeli commandos killed the nine pro-Palestinian activists during the May 31 raid. It has eased the ban on some food items. Israeli officials say Israel will still largely restrict desperately needed construction materials and other items that could have military uses, but they will authorize these items for use in international projects.